Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,156 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,324 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.24% of Bank OZK worth $11,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Bank OZK during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bank OZK by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Bank OZK by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bank OZK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. Institutional investors own 86.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on OZK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Bank OZK from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Bank OZK in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bank OZK currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.38.

Bank OZK Stock Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ OZK opened at $43.45 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.16. The company has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. Bank OZK has a one year low of $37.43 and a one year high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.12. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The business had revenue of $412.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $407.19 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Bank OZK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Bank OZK’s payout ratio is presently 27.36%.

Bank OZK Profile

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.